Into Darkness We Boldly Go
by Lunetta The Wind Goddess
Summary: What becomes of Khan after his world goes in cryo-sleep; Does he fall into darkness once more? How can Kirk trust his Vulcan friend once he is no longer Captain? Is a super-being hell bent on destroying the very world around him capable of love? A decision is made against the acting Captain Kirk so will he be able to face it without his CMO and First Officer? A Bones/Khan K/S fic!
1. Saving Spock

**I've come to the realization that there is little to NO slash of NuKhan and I simply cannot help myself; I know Sherlock fans love Benedict Cumberbatch, but my first encounter with him was in the Star Trek Into Darkness so I have no choice but to slash him. 'Tis in my DNA and I am currently working on finishing my other Star Trek fic as well so I can actually end one story before I start another! I hope you all enjoy this story… I will probably make it a long haul and it MUST be rated M because I am incapable of writing K+ stories and you all want to know what it would be like to sleep with Khan anyways… Contains major spoilers from new movie so if you haven't seen it, add to your favorites and if you don't give a rip about spoilers, then by all means… go ahead! And I could NOT contain the clearly evident Vulcan glass kiss of Spirk… Even in TOS it STILL happens! This fic is going based EXACTLY off the movie, but with my interpretation on it, emotions and various POV's (point of views) and what continues to happen after as well. (Since I am getting the after-comics as well!) **

**Thanks PrincessJim4.0 for beta…**

**Dedicated to Mel Sales, Caroll Anderson, and Suzzane Fields for patiently waiting!**

**(^,^) 3 (^,^) **

Kirk POV

Spock was on the verge of death and Kirk knew it… He didn't give a shit as these odd white creatures on Nibiru chased them relentlessly. Arrows flung through the air and zipped past him.

Bones was farther away and he was more worried about Jim than himself. The rumbling of the volatile volcano shook the ground beneath him.

McCoy POV

"They're trying to kill us Jim!" Bones shouted, terror clearly evident in his voice.

Jim had stolen a scroll, but it was done for a reason, to drive the natives from the volcano. Then Spock could reverse everything with the cold fusion device.

"The beach is THAT way!" Bones shouted as he flailed his arm towards the right.

"I hate this!" He knew they were going to have to jump… He just knew it. Why would his best friend ever listen to him, he had no idea, but reality started to slip from his mind the closer they got to the edge.

"I know you do!" He could hear his Captain say…

McCoy almost shouted Dammit, but before that, the world was in front of him and the sky was beneath his feet.

He felt like passing out… His arms flailed to grab at nothingness as they impacted the surface of the water…_hard_.

Bones was thankful for the special boots that jetted them through the water, but Jim owed him for this one…

They couldn't make it to the enterprise any sooner, and Bones was thankful for that. They tore off their robes sloshing with water and ran through to the bridge and left watery footprints in their wake.

"Spock!" Jim shouted as Chekov shouted their presence on the bridge.

Spock had activated the device and began to inform them thusly.

"I've activated the device Captain. When the countdown is complete, the reaction will render the volcano innerve." Spock stated on his fried communicator.

"Yeah its gonna render him innerve!" McCoy shouted; none of them were ready to say goodbye, not even McCoy.

Just then… arguments went all across the bridge about whether or not they could beam Spock out, but the Enterprise wouldn't be able to withstand the heat of an active volcano was beyond Scotty.

Just then Scotty saw an enormous fish with huge soulless eyes blurred past the navigation screen.

He paused, but considered the fact that the Enterprise couldn't withstand the heat of an active volcano and the pressure beneath the water was taking its toll on the ship. The Enterprise could withstand the vacuum of space, but the pressure psi beneath the water was beginning to become too much.

Spock was determined not to go against the prime directive.

"In the attempt with a rescue mission we would revealed to the indigenous species."

Nevertheless, Kirk was shouting at Spock, "Nobody knows the rules better than you Spock, but there's got to be an exception!" Jim's fear was evident, but he was trying to keep it together.

"Such action would go against the prime directive…" Spock continued until McCoy interrupted.

McCoy's chest heaved in response; he was getting frustrated with all this logical shit and Spock needed to come back so McCoy could yell at him; for all their sakes.

"Shut up Spock we're trying save ya dammit!" McCoy spat.

The enterprise is far too large to kept quiet and stay hidden, even as it rose from the water's surface.

"Doctor, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." The Vulcan continued.

"Spock we're talking about your life here!" Kirk's ocean blue eyes blazed with emotion.

"The rule cannot be broken-." Were Spock's final words before cutting out; the intensity of the volcano seared through his communicator.

Stillness bore through the entire ship as he cut out. Uhura gasped and started to freak out, even though they were no longer an item, everyone on board the ship all cared for Spock.

Uhura switched and pulled buttons and levers to get him back online.

"Spock what would you do if it was me out there?" Kirk asked, mainly to himself, but his best friend was there with him.

"He'd let you die…" McCoy stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

Spock POV

He felt the blast of the volcano as heat poured over him. If this was the end, he'd refuse to let his emotions get the best of him; he wouldn't allow the fate of his home planet to get the best of him. He wasn't ready to die or give in, but there simply was no choice in the matter for himself. He gave no thought of his crew simply because he didn't want to die in vain and he would be saving an entire planetary species in the process. With arms open, he accepted his fate.

Just then the Enterprise emerged from the watery depths out of Nibiru's ocean, completely ignoring the prime directive.

The countdown was at 0:00 and Spock could feel the rings of energy as he was beaming aboard the Enterprise.

The indigenous species very much indeed saw the massive star ship. With the knowledge of barely inventing the wheel, this was a revelation. Their large black eyes stared in awe… The NCC 1701 USS Enterprise tore through the Troposphere of the planet to the volcano where the cold fusion device triggered and it was suddenly snowing, they had been saved by this strange vessel.

McCoy POV

He ran with Kirk in the lead…

"Spock are you alright?" Kirk asked with a huge smile on his face.

"Captain you let them see our ship." Spock plainly stated as his black and bronze metal suit blasted steam from his form and into the air of the cool air of the Enterprise.

"Aww he's fine…" McCoy snarled as the Vulcan didn't seem to care if anyone aboard the ship cared for his life.

"You hear that Spock? You just saved the world." Kirk gave a knowing smile.

"You violated the prime directive…" Spock wasn't finished, but McCoy didn't want to stick around for this shit.

"Come on Spock, so they saw us, big deal?" Kirk stated. He actually found it kind of funny. Spock's blank expression made him want to laugh.

McCoy didn't find the notion funny for either side. Spock's expression did show a bit of surprise, for once and that was speaking volumes…

McCoy, though he didn't express it at the moment, was very glad to see Spock alive, but probably not as much as Jim was at the moment.

The Nibiru species saw this alien-like ship emerge from their ocean and they were bowing to the greatest technology they'd ever seen in a thousand lifetimes. Their elders drew it in the red sand of their planet as they all began to worship their new God.

Kirk POV

Jim knew they were in trouble, he just didn't know how much. He wore they grey Captain uniform with pride and he even admitted, Spock _made_ the hat look good. He clapped in the shoulder and knew they'd all be okay since he happened to lie his ass off in the Captain's report for the benefit of his crew.

That is… until Admiral Pike started asking Kirk to talk more about the volatile volcanic eruption on the planet.

"Maybe it was sir, but I didn't want to trouble you with the details." Kirk smiled as he stated.

He should have noticed Spock's eyes dart back and forth for a split second; he didn't know…

Pike was angry and upset with Kirk and very quickly, the smile faded from the young Captain's face.

"You could have forgotten to mention that the volatile volcanic eruption didn't take place since Commander Spock deactivated a cold fusion device that halted the eruption whilst the entire planet that has just barely inventing the wheel, happen to see a star ship rising out of their ocean. That is pretty much how you described it Mr. Spock is it not?" His tone was rising.

Kirk looked in disbelief towards his First Officer.

"You wrote another report, why didn't you tell me?" Kirk's vast blue eyes darkened.

"I believed that you would incorrectly assume and be truthful in you Captain's log." Spock stated in his very stoic Vulcan expression.

"I wouldn't be if I hadn't saved your life." Kirk stated.

"A fact in which I am immeasurably grateful for and the fact that I felt it necessary to take responsibility for the actions." Spock stated.

"Yeah and it would be so noble as to say you are also throwing me under the bus…" Kirk was pissed and wasn't hiding that fact either.

"Is that a derogatory reference?" Spock's brows furrowed as he tried to understand. Just then, Pike stood up. He began to go on a tangent about what Starfleet was supposed to do and its missions were about exploring space and not interfering with life on other planets as they had just done in their latest mission.

"Had the mission gone according to plan, the indigenous species would have never have known of our existence." Spock was actually defending Kirk now, but neither must've seen it in that fashion.

"That's a technicality..." Pike snapped.

"I am Vulcan… We embrace technicality." Spock brow raised.

"You giving me attitude Spock?" Pike snorted.

"Im expressing multiple attitudes sir." Spock mused. "To which are you referring?"

"Out Spock…Your dismissed Commander." Pike shooed him out of the room before any more damage could be done.

Kirk's face went sullen, but he never expected his Vulcan… _his friend_ to do such a thing. After all they'd been through and Nero for that matter.

He had nothing to say as Spock left the room, leaving him as silent as ever.

Pike talked about how much a pain in the ass Kirk was and the young Captain accepted. He never wanted Spock to take the responsibility for his actions, but the Vulcan gave him no damned choice in the matter. He knew he lied and Pike was practically throwing it in his face. He even went as far to make Kirk feel bad and that there was greatness in him, not because he acted as if the rules didn't apply to him.

Pike went on to get angry about them and saving a planet and changing its destiny and that he would never do such a thing or put his First Officer in that type of jeopardy in the first place.

Pike was fuming and Kirk's fuse was going down as he mentioned the fact that he'd never lost a single crew member on his ship since he'd gotten it. Pike attacked him and stated that it was him jumping with blind luck with his entire crew.

"You're playing God." Pike ended his angry rant.

Kirk thought that last statement was taking it a bit too far, but he wasn't about to fight; in fact, he was pretty tired of it.

"It has been brought to Admiral Marcus' attention and a meeting for which I was not invited to." Pike declared.

"You know what's going to happen…" Pike finished.

Kirk stopped, his heartbeat pounded in his ears and his eyes when wide…

_No!_ He thought.

"They've taken the Enterprise away from you…" The Admiral said. "They've sent it back to the academy."

Kirk's world went black as his mind could barely ascertain and absorb that god forsaken information.

"Admiral I made those decisions based…" Kirk tried to fight, but the Admiral cut him off.

"I can't!" Pike snapped. Kirk never wanted to give in or give up the Enterprise. It was his life, his soul, the very essence that drove him and lead to friends that would've lasted throughout his entire life but the entire thing was ripped from his very hands…

"You've never taken responsibility for anything and you don't respect the chair." Pike ended.

"You know why?" Pike stared him practically into his blazing soul, "Because you aren't ready."

The words burned Kirk deeper than he could've ever imagined and he couldn't think of any given response.

With that… Kirk left.

Kirk was going to get shitfaced as God help anyone that ever tried to stop him. The Enterprise was the only home he had left. His supposed house back in Iowa was no longer considered home since his mother fell into a loveless marriage since she knew she'd never find anyone that could ever come close to George Kirk and they somehow all knew that. Sam, his older brother, was driven away and Kirk stayed for as long as he could until greatness called upon him; Pike had called upon him and now this…

This…_nothingness…_ Kirk could hardly stand it as he stood behind the tall and very empty building. The world seemed suddenly empty and Kirk could even begin to bear it and it was the one he called his _friend _that had destroyed everything. Kirk wanted to hate him, but the fact that he was even alive was Kirk's doing; he wasn't about to make him miserable yet Kirk disbelieved that Spock would ever show that.

Kirk couldn't even begin to cry, not with all the rage in every strand of DNA within his body. He looked up and saw his CMO and couldn't say a fucking word.

"Hey Captain…" Bones sighed as he stepped awkwardly close to his best friend and leaned closer to hug him. Kirk couldn't do or even say anything in order for his friend to know anything that had happened.

But somehow… he knew and Kirk fell into his embrace and sobbed so hard that tears couldn't form. His eyes blurred a reddish hue and he knew he was crying, but the rage kept the tears from falling.

"I know Jim… and I'm sorry." Bones could only guess but he knew Spock would turn his back on everyone that did everything in their power and broke many Starfleet regulations in order to save him.

"I don't know how or why he did this." Bones didn't want to mention any more of this and he knew the only thing that could help…

**Ok so here's the beginning of something great and VERY smutty… like 5,000 words of pure smut lol. But various couples will be involved… I screamed when I first saw NuKhan and the audience looked around all funny. I couldn't help myself as I clutched my STID Khan cup closer…**

**It was an amazing fun movie, but most of this story focuses on AFTER the film, but I wanted to put my parts within the story. So I hope you all enjoy this new story of mine… I had tons of fun writing it. Hope you like and review because there is MUCH to come… Innuendos welcome! Khan has plans and falls for someone he never expected to love… If he was even capable of that…**

_**Or is it beyond him?**_


	2. Hunting For a Man Playing God

**Thanks PrincessJim4.0 for beta read… **

**Dedicated to Mel Sales, Caroll Anderson, and Suzzane Fields, Gabrielle Erica Banadinovic, Kathryn Bailey, Nira Abdul Rahman, Viola De Lesseps, Viridians CG, Gibb Bee, Fan girl 666, .Charade, NeedanEscape18, SpirkTrekker42 and NyraGrimm… Thanks so much for your continued support and enjoyment; may we have tons of fun with NuKhan and NuTrek slashy goodness! Maybe the Vulcan kisses never end! 3**

**For Always… Alex Taylor…**

Kirk POV

Kirk was getting shitfaced and there was nothing and nobody that was going to stop him. He wanted to punch Spock; but honestly, what good would that do?

His best friend passed him the small silver flask that Kirk remembered on the day they had first met.

It was a small comfort in his darkest of days. He honestly believed if he were to ever die… It'd be with his ship…

Now, he was kind of hoping for that…

Khan POV

The man could hear the world around him, but that wouldn't stop his vengeance. Not after what that imbecile had done… _The lesser being!_

He knew how he would start too, but he needed help…_assistance if you will._

He discovered a man named Thomas Harewood and his unparalleled hope for his daughter that was undoubtedly dying of a disease that this new century simply could not cure.

But Khan knew that this man was devoted to his daughter that he would do _anything _for her…

He knew his blood would save Lucille and that this human would benefit him and assist with his greater plans.

Khan talked Thomas into saving the life of his daughter, Lucille, but it was at great cost; and Khan knew he was willing to provide.

Section 31 of Starfleet was the autonomous intelligence and defense organization which was a special security operation, the very heart of Starfleet headquarters…

Khan knew Harewood was not an ordinary member of Starfleet; so this gave him an advantage. It was not subject to the normal constraints of Starfleet…

This was why he had to go…

His message… _Khan's message was going to be heard._

_The pain and suffering of his people and why he was the only one spared while the others were left in their frozen state. Admiral Marcus had betrayed him and he was not one to bend to anyone's will. It was as if he were dangling the one thing that was precious to him directly in front of his face yet he could not have them. The poor men and women of his crew were doomed once they were placed into the torpedoes…_

_All 72 of them…_

Khan found it almost too easy to get Thomas to do his bidding, but he promised to save his daughter and Khan was a man of his word, of that he was certain. No Starfleet officer would dare suspect a bomb within a standard certified ring. It couldn't be traced and Harewood was going to be destroyed in the process because it was created from an alloy that would chemically breakdown once it hit water, rendering it into a fiery inferno.

But not before he sent Admiral A. Marcus Khan's message through the database.

So with tears in his eyes, Thomas Harewood sent the message.

_The bottom level of the highest security and upmost importance building within Starfleet exploded…_

_People would die, but that was to be expected because Khan's own were lost once they had been discovered… Beyond the past._

Khan smiled as he saw his plan go like clockwork…_ A father dies yet his child and wife are spared and granted a new life. _

Kirk POV

He sat at the bar, pissed, frustrated and angry all wrapped up together. The only place that had a ring of familiarity was this London bar…

He automatically went for the hard stuff… _It was a hard as fuck day too…_

He turned to his side and saw a gorgeous girl; he was human after all?

He smiled and turned towards her, but Pike's form almost knocked him from his seat.

Kirk wanted to scream…

"How'd you find me?" Kirk asked, clearly not surprised with this Admiral whatsoever.

"I know you better than you think I do." was Pike's response.

"Remember I found you in a dive like this?" He smiled, "You got your ass handed to you remember that?"

"No I didn't." Kirk lied, "No that's not what happened."

"You sure could take a beating." Pike was close to laughing, "You had napkins sticking out of your nose."

Kirk broke into an infectious grin.

"Did you not?" Now they were both smiling.

"Yeah that was a good fight." Kirk reminisced about the legendary battle with Cupcake.

"A good fight." Pike grinned, "I think that's you problem right there."

Kirk looked right through him; they were similar, but Pike knew Kirk needed to grow up and face reality, but he was getting better; unfortunately, he wasn't getting there fast enough for his own good.

"They gave her back to me…" Pike started, "The Enterprise…

Kirk wanted to shout with joy. He was quite elated that it wouldn't be converted into a test drive for the academy or turned into scrap… She'd been and done a great many things and Kirk was very proud of her. He was at least thankful that she was back in Pike's hands.

"Congratulations…" Kirk didn't want to seem like an ass, but he was pissed that it seemed as if his Captain's rank meant nothing to the Admirals and Starfleet.

"I want you to keep my First Officer." Kirk said.

"That's not going to happen… Spock's been transferred… The USS Bradbury."

Kirk took a long swig of his second drink, tipping it all the way up.

"You're going to be my First Officer… Admiral Marcus took some convincing. Around that man I can make a really good case."

Kirk was still in a state of disbelief. "What did you tell him?"

"The truth." He looked Kirk right in the eyes, "That I believe in you."

Kirk was beaming…

"That if anybody deserved a second chance it would be James Kirk."

Kirk looked at him then looked at the granite bar. He couldn't find the right way to thank him.

"I don't know what to say." Kirk couldn't manage.

"That is a first." Pike joked, but they were both smiling.

"It'll be alright son." Pike's words touched Kirk right through his heart. He never got to meet his dad, but he lived forever in his shadow and had barely begun to break through. Pike had been one of the few that never doubted his own worth.

Tears started to water in Kirk's eyes. Christopher Pike made him feel loved and wanted as the perfect father he never had and he was beyond appreciative.

Just then Pike's communicator buzzed and he checked it.

"Emergency session day room." He said. Kirk stared, "That's us." Kirk and he rose from the bar.

"Suit up." He gave Kirk a friend tap on the shoulder as he made his way over.

Kirk would never have guessed what to expect at this meeting, but he was damned happy to still be with Pike… _and the Enterprise._

Kirk was dressed to impress in his grey uniform… He was making his way to the meeting and he heard a familiar voice.

"Captain…" The Vulcan said.

"Not anymore Spock...First Officer" Kirk wanted to shout, but he decided that it wasn't worth it anymore, let alone the fact that he had grown up a bit since the violent rendezvous with Nero.

They made their way together towards the turbo lift.

"I was demoted and you were reassigned." He folded his hands behind his back, much like Spock did when he wasn't busy.

"It is fortunate that the consequences weren't more severe." Spock stated.

"You gotta be kidding me." Kirk was mainly telling himself.

"Captain… It was never my intention-" the Vulcan was interrupted by Kirk,

"Not Captain." Kirk corrected him. "I saved your life Spock, you wrote a report, I lost my ship." He finished and stayed brutal and to the point; with that, Kirk left the elevator.

"Commander… I see now that I should have alerted you to that fact that I had submitted the report." Spock followed in earnest.

"I am familiar with your compulsion to follow the rules but I can't do that. Where I come from if somebody saves your life you don't stab them in the back." Kirk was getting angry; his blue eyes brightening with his response.

"Vulcans cannot lie." Spock stated. Kirk saw those elongated Vulcan eyebrows raise a fraction of an inch.

"Then I'm talking to the half human part of you." Spock's head tilted to the side. Kirk could sense that he'd taken his _friend_ by surprise.

"Do you understand why I went back for you?" Kirk snapped, trying to stay focused, but this was getting ridiculous trying to get through to him.

"Commander Spock, Frank Evans USS Bradbury... Guess you're with me." The African American man said.

"Yes Captain." Spock nodded as the older man left he and Kirk alone. They simply stared at one another.

"The truth is…" Kirk started, "I'm gonna miss you." He watched Spock and hoped for something… anything.

Kirk's brows rose as he waited for a response.

Spock stared at him, childlike yet unemotional. His lips parted as if he intended to say something…_anything._ Kirk hoped.

The Vulcan's mouth closed. Though he was annoyed and it was relatively funny, it hurt that his counterpart gave him no parting words.

Kirk groaned as he left.

_Admiral Marcus…_ They could hear his personal announcement, as if everyone there didn't know his name already.

_If only they knew what to expect and what was to come…_

"Thank you for convening on such short notice." Admiral Marcus declared.

"Be seated." Kirk was uncertain of this man; he seemed pushy even though he'd hardly met the guy.

"By now some of you may have heard what happened in London, The target was a Starfleet out of the archive that blew a damned hole in the ground. Forty-two men and women are dead. One hour ago I received a message from a Starfleet officer who confessed to carrying out this attack. He was being forced to do it by this man."

Just then… An image of a dark haired man showed up on every officer's view screen.

"Commander John Harrison… He's one of our own. He is the man responsible for this attack of savagery. For reasons unknown John Harrison has waged a one-man war against Starfleet. And under no circumstances are we to allow this man to escape Federation space. You here tonight represent the senior command of all the vessels in the region and in the name of those we lost; you will run this bastard down." His words filtered through the tension-filled room, leaving little time for thoughts on the matter, but Kirk had plenty.

Pike was staring at the Admiral; he knew something was up, but he had no idea exactly quite what that was. It wasn't very Starfleet of Admiral Marcus to kill a man.

"This is a man hunt pure and simple, so let's get to work." Marcus' eyes shone purple in the light which made him look slightly exotic in the light. Kirk noticed, but Spock seemed as if he was sitting in his chair a little too upright a position…_Even Spock had his own form of being comfortable and Kirk knew when those times were. He knew Spock long enough to notice the minute changes any other would have missed. _

"Earth's perimeter sensors have not detected his warp signatures leaving the system, so he can't be far. You will park your ships in a blockade formation but you will begin a search with your landing party so hunt down every suit."

Kirk closed in on the frames and altered the path from the man's face and looker much deeper into the pictures; pretty much further than any of the other so-called senior officers within the room. He was still doing more. He continued to search for answers as Admiral Marcus went on…

He zoomed in on John Harrison… flipped the image sideways and went down towards his hand; Harrison was carrying a large black duffel bag.

"What's in the bag?" Kirk asked as he leaned towards Pike, who steadfastly argued quietly for him to stop.

"James not now." He wasn't finished, but Marcus interrupted them.

"Chris everything okay there?" Marcus nodded as he asked.

"Yes sir." Pike responded, even though Marcus used his name on a non professional level.

"Mr. Kirk is just acclimating to his new position as First Officer." Pike told him.

"If you've got something to say, say it now Kirk, or tomorrow it's too late."Marcus demanded.

"I'm sorry sir, my apologies." Kirk tried to sound sincere, but the message wasn't quite received.

He certainly had the Vulcan's attention, because he knew more than anyone that Kirk's hunches were impossibly accurate. He was very much in anticipation of what the demoted Captain had in mind.

"Don't be shy son, spit it out." Marcus snapped.

"Just… Why the archives?" Kirk asked, bemused. "All that information is public record. If he really wanted to damage Starfleet… This could just be the beginning."

"The beginning of what Mr. Kirk?" Marcus asked.

"Sir, if in the event of an attack, we have protocol mandates that Admirals and First Officers would gather in HQ right here…" Kirk paused.

"In this room…"His blue eyes widened in alarm.

"It is curious that junction without word given that…" Spock was at a loss for words as a blazing red light washed over the span of the room.

Kirk was the only one that went towards the enormous windowpane in the direct of the angry light. Spock was no far behind him as he was the second to stand. Marcus was the third and all the eyes in the room were towards the window.

"Clear the room!" Kirk bellowed as phaser bullets riddled the room with the intent to kill.

**I hope you all enjoy this story so far; most of it is the movie (like you didn't want to relive the movie anyways!) I need to get through all the technical stuff before we can further develop the infamous K/S t'hy'la slash and Khan/Bones… I appreciate the reviews and cannot wait for more. There is so much go hash through and I hope you can withstand the plot movie fans! There will be other established couples so it won't be that difficult to search for them! 3 Your reviews are like Khan's silky voice of evil and Vulcan hand kisses! Will update as soon as possible! **

**What will become of our doctor once he meets the infamous John Harrison? **


	3. Losing an Admiral and Capturing a God

**Ok I had to revise this a little bit since I didn't couple Spock with Uhura, well because he's Kirk's t'hy'la and all… lol XD So make sure pay attention to that ok? And Uhura has plans of her own… as well (surprisingly Chekov!) It just happened and there wasn't must I could do! I want you all to know how much I SLAVED over this chapter! I have a migraine from staring at the screen too long until I saw a weird flashing rainbow crescent in my peripheral vision and it did NOT go away when I closed my eyes. It got to the point where when I looked at a word, it started blobbing together in a circle of light… whoa. So I passed out on the couch right before finishing this! Hope you all enjoy; reviews are a sweet and silky as Khan's voice in the dark! XD**

Kirk POV

Kirk dove underneath a table before it fell over. Glass shattered and blasted though the air. Everyone could hear the screaming of the officers as red poured through the vicinity.

A woman lie screaming and clutching her leg as more Starfleet officers filtered through the room, branding their large phaser cannons. These were not your average phasers, Kirk noticed.

Bright yellow laser bullets zoomed past him. He guessed no one was spared. He'd been almost hit a few times. Kirk found a random cannon on the ground and stomped towards his attacker. He was rather far and couldn't see anyone just yet, but he shouted to the other officers running through the white corridor.

"Go go go!" Kirk ordered as they tried to escape the red fury. Jim found an opening by the last window; he had to see who was behind the attack for himself. He peeked behind and saw a gunship aimlessly killing every high ranking officer within their sight.

Kirk eyes blazed as bright as his own fury as he aimed the cannon and blasted at the vehicle, shattering the glass so he could do some real damage.

He aimed with timed precision and hit it more than enough times. _Marcus ran and slammed his body against a pillar within the center of the room. He could hear Christopher Pie shout as he dragged himself across the room. _

Kirk was relentlessly shooting and he could see that it honestly wasn't making a difference.

He could see a blue light; it was absorbing the energy around it and Kirk thought that was its engine or power source of some sort. He needed something stronger to pull it down or even slow it down so he could get a clear shot of the pilot.

_Which he knew had to be John Harrison!_

Kirk yanked open the fire emergency panel and started pulling out the fire hose. He knew that it could possibly slow down the gunship.

Spock POV

He could hear all the terror around him. The Vulcan tried to save as many as he possibly could but they were dropping like flies. Two more elite officers fell before him.

He looked up and met Admiral's Pike's wide blue eyes. The Admiral was suddenly blasted by a laser, forcing him to the ground as he shouted.

Spock lunged for him and grabbed him underneath the shoulders and very quickly dragged him across the room and into the safety of the corner.

Kirk POV

Kirk slid on his knees across the hard floor, causing him to wince just slightly. He wrapped the fire hose around his arm like a lasso and make certain that the metal edge was on the end of his newly formed weapon. He tied the metal edge around a cinderblock shaped piece of metal and hurled it like a trident at the gunship, growling as he did so.

As he expected, the blue energy compartment that was absorbing everything around it sucked it right through.

Kirk could only watch…

_The hose didn't break the gunship, but it was pulling out all of the line. Until the panels surrounding the hose started cracking, trying to resist. The gunship was far stronger and the entire unit broke completely out of the wall; in an instant, Kirk ducked._

_The hose went right through, but the compartment put up a fight and suddenly the gunship started to cease. The engine exploded out of the back and smoke poured from the black gunship._

_The entire ship flung forward and back then swerved towards the window, right at Kirk._

He needed to face the accuser, whatever it took. The gunship rolled around until Kirk could see him

_John Harrison…_

_His dark hair was combed back. Those inhumanly blue eyes were so tapered; everything about him screamed danger and Kirk could feel Harrison's fury because it clashed with his own. His eyes were narrowed in anger, knowing that his wrath had been ceased all because of the demoted captain… Kirk had never wanted to kill anyone more than this man right now._

Kirk stopped. He could see the gold beams of energy swirling around the living embodiment of evil.

_He was going somewhere…_ Kirk knew it, but to where, he had no idea.

Kirk stared at the gunship as is continuously rotated through the blackened sky. Its cockpit now rendered empty…

Kirk stared in disbelieved. He watched it tumble down through the sky.

Spock POV

He saw Pike and knew he didn't have long. He wasn't certain if Pike could take anymore, nor did he even know what to say…

He reached out his hand and touched the meld points on Christopher Pike's face.

Spock's nostrils flared as he felt all of the shared emotions running through his own mind from Pike's. Tears flowed over the Admiral's face as he started to see his own end…_anger, rage, frustration, terrified… _Pike's silver eyebrows rose up as he began to stare though Spock, rather than at him anymore…

_Pike was no longer with him… He admired that fact that Spock, of all people, had stayed with him until the end… The end was so dark and so black…_

Spock released his hand as he felt it all.

_Black enveloped everything…_

_Pike POV_

_Until this pure…white blasted through his vision; the pain his body underwent no longer bothered him. The limp he carried... that pain just bled away with everything else from the Earthly body. _

_He felt his own soul… walking, without a cane. Everything was perfect and so white…_

_He could barely see… but a form slowly moved towards him; a celestial body not from Earth… but of heaven itself, adorned with wings of feather._

_George Samuel Kirk stood in front of him…in all his glory. Tears flowed down Pike's face… falling off his face and into eternity. He didn't want to look back anymore…ever ever again…_

"_Take it all…away…" He whispered as George's face edged closer…warming his very soul. George's arms wrapped around Pike's shoulders in an embrace that welcomed him home. _

_What the Admiral felt was beyond pleasure of any human desire. Liquid euphoria filled him, surrounded him; ebbed through his very being. He couldn't speak a single word…_

"_Chris…" George's heavenly voice whispered as he leaned against Pike's neck. His voiced echoed through reality._

"_You did right… You've never let me down." George's voice got louder and easier to understand. _

"_I… You're here…I can't bel-" Pike was cut off by George's lips…_

_Oh God… Everything… Earth…Time…Infinity… If this was it, then Pike was exalted. He'd waited for The One and it never came; not on Earth perhaps, but here… this heaven… human bliss had nothing on this. George… his George… forever… He pulled him closer and kissed him._

_Tears fell down his face and for once, he wasn't poignant… _

"_Wait no longer my love." George felt him… His soul pushed against his own. Pike wasn't scared… It was intimacy beyond human love. He gasped as their souls intertwined and fused into one blinding light._

_Oh God… Is this is what Heaven is? He thought… If it was, then he no longer cared what happened to his Earthly body…home. Heaven wasn't a religion… it was what you wanted it to be… Heaven was different for everyone… It was only what you wanted and nothing could tell you otherwise. His God he believed in had given this to him. In the end, He gave you what you most truly desired…_

_He was… home._

Kirk POV

Jim went running and saw Spock's form hunched over. He stepped closer, in disbelief. Spock turned and saw Kirk fall to his knees. He stared at Spock then reached down and pressed his fingers to Christopher Pike's pulse point on his neck. Kirk's brows furrowed as he tried to grasp the concept that his only mentor…_father_… was physically gone. Pain etched into Kirk's face as he looked down… He couldn't meet anyone's gaze any longer. He wept over Pike's chest… His fingers wrapped through the fabric of his Starfleet uniform. Once he finally pulled back, the world blurred back to him. He put his hand on Spock shoulder; he had no other option. The Vulcan was the only person that held him here for the moment.

The world went quiet and slowed down for James T. Kirk… Debris floated after the storm of the attack. Only now could he hear the wailing sirens of the police ships swirled around the building, illuminating him with their spotlights.

Khan POV

He exhaled as his body energized into the dusty world around him. Winds ripping through the atmosphere batted through his billowing black coat.

He pulled his hood over head and gazed at the violent world around him.

_He was prepared, but were they?_

_This was just the beginning…_

Kirk POV

He sat there on the edge of the bed, quietly observing until his communicator blinked and alerted him of a message. His brows furrowed as he came back from his thoughts.

_So the world does go on without him, but do I? _Jimthought.

"Yeah?" He asked without much emotion.

"Commander… Mr. Scott has found something in the wreckage of Harrison's ship. He has asked that you see him right away." Spock familiar voice crackled through his comm.

Kirk and Spock floored through the deck where the engineer impatiently waited for them; they all wanted justice for Harrison's crime.

"Cap 'an!" Scotty shouted as they ran towards him, "I found this in the crash site. This is how the bastard got away."

"What do you mean?" Kirk stared at what he was holding.

"Its a portable transport beamin' device Cap 'an." Scotty said.

"Can you figure out where he went?" Jim asked, frustrated as everyone else was, except possibly Spock.

"I alrea'y have sir. And you're not gonna like it." He said with a grim face as he opened up the black device.

"He's gone to the once place we jus' canne go." Scotty showed them the screen inside the transporter.

Kirk's face was full of determination as he took in this in sequence. Kirk saw Admiral Marcus speaking in tines with the few remaining officers from Harrison's second attack.

"Check the triple security for-" Marcus never finished.

"Sir, he's not on Earth!" Kirk shouted as he slid towards them.

"He went to Kronos…sir." Kirk stated. Spock stood beside him as they announced this alarming fact.

"I request that my command be reinstated and permission to go after him." Kirk stated so boldly.

Marcus stared at him, awestruck as he considered it and walked away with both Kirk and Spock following.

"Give us a minute." He dismissed the other elite officers.

"Kronos sensors… gone to the Klingon home world. Is he defecting?" Marcus asked.

"Uhh, we're not sure…" Kirk answered.

"He has taken refuge on the Kampa region that is uninhabited by-," Spock answered him, but was cut off by Kirk.

"He's hiding out there sir." Kirk almost shouted. "Sir we have to he know if we even go near Klingon space it would be an all out war sir. Starfleet cannot go after him, but I can." Kirk finished.

Spock stared at him with his Vulcan brows pushed low to his forehead; even he understood the gravity of the situation at hand.

_Was he ready for another incredibly dangerous voyage with his Captain?_

"Please sir." Kirk hoped the vengeance he was seeking wasn't clearly printed on his face, but it showed through with its intensity and it was all Kirk could do but not scream right now.

"An all out war with the Klingons is inevitable Mr. Kirk." Marcus spoke, "If you ask me, it's already begun. Since the dawn of their existence, they've conquered and occupied two planets that were not theirs… They've fire half a dozen times at our ships." He was walking past the silver miniature models of starships until he reached the biggest black one.

"They are coming our way..." He stated.

"London wasn't an archive. It was a top secret branch of Starfleet, designated section 31. We've been developing test technology and training officers to gather and tell us about the Klingons, and any other potential enemies meaning to do us harm." The Admiral sat down.

_He definitely had the Vulcan's undivided attention. _

"Harrison was one of our top agents." He admitted.

"Well he's a fugitive and I wanna take him out." Kirk asked.

"My knowledge says that you're one of the best and brightest." Marcus told him.

"He sure knew how to defend you." He said, "He was the one that talked you into joining Starfleet wasn't he?" Marcus asked.

He could see right through Kirk, "Yes sir."

"Did he ever tell you that I talked him into joining?" Marcus asked. "His death is on me…and yours can't be."

"Sir, please…all I want to-" Kirk was interrupted.

"You're saying the planet he's hiding out on is uninhabited?"

"Affirmative sir." Spock agreed.

_Spock looked back at the Admiral, wanting him to tell them yes. _

The Admiral walked around them… considering what this would mean and do.

"As a part of a new defensive strategy, Starfleet has developed a new photon torpedo." Marcus said as he brought up a hologram from the center of the table to show them.

"Long range and untraceable… It would be invisible to Klingon sensors." He swiveled the hologram around.

"I don't want you hurt, but I want to take him out. You park on the edge of the neutral zone, you lock on to Harrison's position, you fire and kill him and you haul ass." He stopped.

"Sir, permission to reinstate Mr. Spock as my First Officer…" Kirk asked.

"Granted." Marcus said.

Shuttles whizzed past as they made their way to the landing deck. Kirk wore a black jumper, but his gold command was clearly on display for all to see once more. He was almost running towards the Enterprise.

Just then, a very disgruntled Chief Medical Officer came stomping towards him.

"Jim!" McCoy's voice rang out.

"Where were you?" He asked with a warning tone.

"For what?" Kirk kept moving forward with determination.

"Your medical exam…" He asked. "10 hours ago you were in a damned fired plane… It's my duty-"

"Bones…I'm fine." Jim answered.

"The hell you are." The doctor growled in a whisper. Kirk looked off to the side and back at him,

"I'm fine..." He snapped and walked away.

McCoy stopped looked down and thought for a minute. He knew Jim was upset, but he didn't have to be an ass to his best friend. He frowned and shook his head as he followed him in the same direction. He felt like he'd just gotten slapped in the face by Jim…

"Status report Mr. Spock?" Kirk asked as he got into the shuttle.

The Vulcan went from impassive and turned towards his Captain once more.

"The Enterprise should be ready for launch by the time we arrive." He answered.

"Good job Mr. Spock" Kirk returned. Maybe he shouldn't be so hard on his friends… He took that note from Bones but it was pointless in front of Mr. Spock, he was Vulcan after all.

"Captain…" Spock started; Kirk glanced over slightly in surprise.

"Thank you for requesting my reinstatement." The Vulcan had actually expressed his gratitude.

Kirk smiled for the first time since Pike.

McCoy started running graphs and tests on Jim; running scanners over his face t make certain that he was okay.

"You're welcome." Kirk smiled back again.

"As again your First Officer, I strongly object to our mission parameters." Spock reported.

"Of course you do." Kirk wanted to laugh, but he knew his once again Vulcan friend would never give up on his rash-acting Captain… _ever_.

"There is no Starfleet regulation that condemns a man to die without a trial." His brows rose.

"Something you and Admiral Marcus are forgetting… Also, preemptively firing those torpedoes on the Klingon home world goes against-"

"You, yourself, said that you would become an Admiral. There's only going to be one casualty. In any case you weren't listening; our orders have nothing to do with Starfleet regulation."

"Wait a minute… We're firing torpedoes at the Klingons?!" McCoy almost shouted, brows furrowing.

"Regulation aside, this action is morally wrong." Spock added.

"Regulations aside, we decided that pulling your ass out of the volcano is morally right." Kirk snapped, "And I don't win any points for that?"

McCoy started. "Jim, calm down." He needed his friend to relax so he could finish his exam without too much difficulty because he worried about him.

"I'm not taking ethics lessons from a robot." He retorted back at Spock.

"Reverting to name calling suggests you are defensive; and therefore, find my opinion valid."

"I wasn't asking for your opinion… Bones get that thing off my face." He snorted as McCoy pulled away the small scanner to test his skin for any toxins.

"Captain, our mission still aboard with the Klingons is it by the very definition of immoral. Perhaps you should take a requisite time to arrive to this conclusion yourself." Spock ended his statement.

For once McCoy and Spock agreed about something…

"Captain Kirk…" A new girl with blonde hair came up to the arguing trio.

"Hi, I'm Carol Wallace. I've been assigned to the Enterprise by Admiral Marcus. These are my charts"

"You requested another shuttle Science Officer Captain?" Spock's eyes narrowed as he glanced at his leader.

McCoy noticed Spock's posture go slightly rigid… Spock's mouth parted slightly as he accepted the fact.

"Wish I had." He smiled at the pretty girl.

"Lieutenant Carol Wallace… Doctorate in Applied Physics… Specializing in advanced weaponry…" Kirk was reading the PADD she handed over to him.

"Impressive credentials…" Spock complimented.

"Thank you." She smiled.

"But redundant now aboard the Enterprise." He finished.

"Yet there more the merrier." Kirk smiled, "Have a seat Dr. Wallace." He motioned towards the seat between him and Spock.

"Thank you." She smiled as sat between them.

If McCoy didn't know any better, he could've said Spock showed the indication of jealousy right then…

Shuttle crew, standby until liftoff… The shuttle Captain stated as they left for their departure.

The tiny shuttles whizzed through the Earth's atmosphere and into the vastness of dark space…towards the Enterprise.

"No, I'm not signing any anything!" Scotty shouted as he saw the torpedoes on the Enterprises' loading deck and tried to stop them from getting loaded on.

"Tell them to git these bloody things off my ship!" Scotty shouted as Kirk came into view.

"There a problem, Mr. Scott?" Kirk asked.

"Aye sir! I was jus' explainin' to this gen'lmen that a canno' have any weapons on board this ship without knowing wha's inside them."

"Mr. Scott, the gentlemen, has a reache-" Spock was handed a PADD by his Captain.

"Report to the bridge." Kirk ordered.

"Captain…" Spock answered with a slight attitude.

"Mr. Scott, I understand your concern, but we need these torpedoes on board." Kirk said.

"Given that fact sir, but photon torpedoes run on fuel. Now I canno' even detect the type o' fuel inside the compartments on these torpedoes because its shielded. Now I asked for the specifications, but he said…" He pointed to the man behind him.

"Classified." The dark man behind him said.

"Its classified, So thas' it? No specs, no signatures?" Scotty hissed.

Then a shout from a deck above them and everyone looked up.

"Captain… Flight check complete, ready to go sir." Sulu stated to everyone on the loading deck.

"Thank Mr. Sulu." Kirk said as Sulu left the deck.

"Yes sir." Sulu said.

"Now if you'll excuse me I've got a warp core to track… Get down!" He shouted at Keenser. Scotty took off.

"Jim, your vitals are way off." McCoy warned him.

"It's not that bad…" He said as he started after the Scotsman, leaving McCoy behind…again.

"Scotty I need you to approve those weapons." Kirk was asking.

"You know wha' this is Cap'an?" Scotty berated him.

"I don't have time for lectures Scotty." Kirk was getting irritated.

"Do you know wha' this is?!" Scotty asked as he slowed down in front of a while piece of machinery.

"It's a warp core." Kirk answered.

"It's a radioactive catastrophe waitin' to happen."

"A couple ships with magnetic output from say five in one or more six dozen torpedoes with an unknown build could salvage a chain reaction that will kill every living thing on the ship. Laying those torpedoes on the Enterprise is the last straw." Scotty huffed.

"What was the first straw?" Kirk argued.

"What was the? There are plenty of straws." Scotty was getting even madder.

"How about stopping confiscating my trans-warp equation and now some madman is using it to hop across the galaxy. Where do you think he got it from?!"

"They are orders Scotty." Kirk told him.

"That's what scares me." Scotty admitted.

"This is clearly a military operation… Is that what we are now? Cause I thought we were explorers" Scotty asked.

"Sign for the torpedoes, that's an order." Scotty realized Kirk wasn't right in the head, but he hadn't known of all the week's events that had transpired.

Scotty's blue eyes that were shades darker than Kirk's, stared back at him with determination.

"Thanks… but you've leaving me no choice but to resign my duties." Scotty replied angrily.

"Aww come on Scotty…" Kirk whined.

"You've given me no choice!" Scotty shouted.

They started fighting and cutting each other off.

"Do you accept my resignation or not?" Scotty said.

"I DO!" Kirk shouted back, "I do…" Kirk finished.

"You are relieved… Mr. Scott." Kirk ended the battle.

Scotty leaned in close to Kirk and both could tell they were pretty much on the same level with their heated opinions.

"Jim, for the love of God, do not use those torpedoes." He pleaded and then he stared Kirk in those ocean blue eyes and held the PADD with his resignation form until Jim was the one that accepted it.

Scotty walked away with empty hands and an empty heart for the time being…

Scotty stopped and looked behind him at Keenser, who handed Kirk his resignation as well and he followed the Scotsman off the ship.

Scotty knew the only true friend he had right now was him…

Kirk felt a little more empty right now.

"Captain, I'm so sorry about Admiral Pike." Uhura said as he made his way to the bridge.

"We all are." Kirk said, but somehow it hadn't affected them as deep as it had for himself.

"Are you okay?" She asked with sincerity.

"I'm fine thank you Lieutenant."

They got into the turbo lift and they could both feel the tension.

"Actually Scotty just quit and Spock is second guessing every chance he gets." Kirk stopped…

They stood for a minute.

"I'm sorry it's inappropriate, but sometimes I wanna rip the f…things off his head." Kirk crossed his arms and exhaled loudly. I mean maybe it's me do I…"

"It's not you…" Uhura started.

"It's not…wait are you mad at him?" Kirk asked.

Just then Spock looked up at them towards the entrance and they both stopped talking.

"Keptain on ze bridge!" Chekov announced as Kirk made his way to _The Chair…_

_It was made for him and he would always get it back, even if he didn't like the means of how he'd gotten there, but it was in his blood. _

"Captain" Sulu acknowledged him as he cross the room.

"Mr. Chekov you've been shadowing Mr. Scott, are you familiar with all the engineering systems on the ship?"

"Affirmative sir." Chekov answered.

"Good… You're my new chief… Go put on a red shirt." He ordered.

Chekov looked around absently, then towards Sulu. His fellow helmsman could only watch as he left.

"Aye Keptain." He uttered as he rose from his familiar post.

_If only his Captain knew it wasn't the only thing in engineering he'd done with Mr. Scott. The long hours he spent with him and Chekov had sort of fallen for the Scotsman, but it was all innocent and he'd only kissed the older man. Scotty had refused him simply because he was so young, but Sulu had helped him after that and then he and Sulu ended up having a closer than your average relationship because of that. There could even be something between them for all he knew. Scotty accepted the young Russian's feelings, but he'd never acted upon them. Chekov had no idea why Scotty wasn't on the ship anymore and he was suddenly filled with dread. He paid enough attention to detail to figure everything out though._

'Put in us in warp Mr. Sulu." Kirk ordered.

Just then a loud vibrating sound filled the bridge. The U.S.S. Enterprise rose up from the landing bay.

"Hail to engineering." Kirk commanded.

"Mr. Chekov how we looking down there?" Kirk asked.

"All system normal Keptain." Chekov stated for now, "warp available at your command." He clicked off the comm. with slight difficulty. He was too used to the top, but he started to remember everything that Scotty had taught him now that he was in the heart of the ship.

_He was wearing Scotty's colors now…_

"Thank you Mr. Chekov." Kirk signed out.

Sulu prepped the warp drive and released the parking break this time and slowly pulled up the lever. The Enterprise's bridge blurred forward and tore a hole through space as it blasted through the speed of light.

It was Kirk's turn to hail the entire ship. Uhura opened the channel.

"Attention crew of the enterprise… As most of you know Christopher Pike, former captain of this ship, and our friend… is dead. The man who killed him had fled our system and is hiding out on the Klingon home world so he thinks we do not have the means to go. We are on our there way now. Admiral Marcus is essential to our presence and we are lucky to have him; tension between Starfleet and the Klingon Empire have been high and any provocation could lead to an all out war."

Spock dared to stare him down at the bridge as he sat in the Captain's chair. Kirk didn't think he was capable of doing it; for once he actually took Spock's advice… and well as McCoy's.

"I will personally lead a landing party to an abandoned city on surface of Kronos where we will capture the fugitive John Harrison and return him to Earth so he can face judgment for his actions; Alright let's go get the son of a bitch, Kirk out."

Spock POV

"Captain I believe you have made the right decision." Spock declared, "If I can be on any assistance I would be happy accompany you in your lead team."

"You… happy?" Kirk said bewildered.

"I was simply using your vernacular to convey an idea." Spock stated.

"Thank you Mr. Spock." Kirk smiled.

The engineering bay was fully loaded with torpedoes as ensigns and red-shirted crew alike scurried along the engineering bay. Carol Wallace was trying to scan one until she felt a presence behind her. She gasped and turned around to face none other than Spock, the true First Officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

He'd caught her.

"Spock… Oh you startled me." She said as she smiled innocently at him. '

_Did she honestly believe that would work on a Vulcan nonetheless?_ Spock pondered before he decided it was time to discover her true intentions.

"What are you doing doctor?" He asked.

"I was verifying that the torpedoes-" Spock cut her off,

"No, you don't understand; what are you doing on this ship? There is no record of you being assigned to the Enterprise." Spock's brows narrowed.

"Really, that would be something of a mistake." She said.

"My conclusion as well Doctor Marcus." Spock was done with this foolishness.

"Except you lied about your identity. What would this be concerning with your surname of your mother. I can only assume that the Admiral is your father."

"Mr. Spock, I'm aware that I have no right to ask you, but please he cannot know that I'm-"

WHAM! Spock fell over Carol and the entire ship rumbled from the disconnected warp signature entirely.

_Red Alert! Red Alert! Red Alert!… The engine's sirens were wailing, alerting everyone of the clear and present danger though the cause of it was unbeknownst to the crew._

"Engine just manually dropped us out of warp sir!" Sulu answered Kirk before the question was asked.

"Mr. Chekov did you break my ship?" Kirk asked.

"I'm zorry zir, I didn't know vhat to do! The warp core overheated and…" Chekov was fighting for words… "I had to activate ze emergency stop. It's not that hard but I need time to find it… Zorry Keptain." He finished.

"Dammit... Mr. Sulu, time until our destination?" He asked.

"Twenty minutes sir, but that's twenty minutes of empty space we weren't counting on." Sulu concluded.

"Alright then we'd better hop to it. Kirk said, "Where is Mr. Spock?

"Right here Captain." Spock answered as he came upon the bridge.

"You're coming with me to Kronos… Lieutenant, how's your Klingon?"

'Its rusty, but its good." Uhura answered.

"Good, you're coming too." He added, "Meet me in the shuttle bay.

McCoy walked up to have he was done giving orders.

"Jim, you're not actually going down there are you?" He asked, completely taken aback by today's events.

"You don't rob a bank when the getaway car has a flat tire…" He said.

"I'm sure engineering will have it all patched by the time we get back, isn't that right Mr. Chelov?" Kirk asked.

"Yez Keptain, I'll do my best sir." Chekov said as Kirk hailed him.

"Mr. Sulu… You have the Comm." Kirk smiled at him. "Once we're on route, I want you to transmit the targeted converse on Harrison's location, you tell him that you have a bunch of big torpedoes aimed at his head and if he doesn't play nice, you're not afraid to use them." Kirk said rather arrogantly. "There a problem?"

"No sir, it's just that… I've never sat in the chair before." Sulu admitted.

"You're gonna do great." Kirk said as he left and McCoy followed.

"Jim... wait." McCoy uttered to his friend.

"You just that man down in a high stakes poker game with no cards and told him to bluff, now Sulu is a good man, but he is no Captain." McCoy worried.

"For the next two hours he is and enough of the metaphors, that's an order." "Make sure that ship is ready to fly." McCoy snorted as his best friend continued on and away from him.

"Acting captain Hikaru Sulu to shuttle bay two…" Sulu continued, "Captain Kirk is on routine and out."

All three crew members made it out towards shuttle bay two dressed in non standard clothing.

"Ready to deploy Captain." A voice rang out.

"You need to lose the red shirts, put those on. If all this goes South we don't want anything connecting us to Starfleet." Kirk said.

Kirk POV

The shuttle was expelled out the side of the Enterprise off from the neutral zone. They'd have to pretty much wing it for twenty miles from their original landing site.

"Captain, I'm detecting a suppuration wave in the Kappa region on Kronos. Given the information provided by Mr. Scott, it is most likely that John Harrison should be here." Spock stated.

"Mr. Sulu I think we found our man; let me know when you are ready to do business." Kirk said.

"Aye Captain." Sulu said.

"Attention John Harrison, this Captain Hikaru Sulu of the U.S.S. Enterprise… A shuttle of highly trained officers is on its way to your location. If you do not surrender to them immediately, I will unleash the entire payload of advanced long range torpedoes currently locked on to your location. You have two minutes to confirm your comply. Refusal to do so will result in your obliteration… If you test me, you will fail." Sulu completed his statement.

McCoy could only stare at the newly appointed Captain…in awe.

"Mr. Sulu… remind me to never piss you off." McCoy complimented.

Sulu smiled quietly to himself…

_If the chair ever called again… He was ready for it._

The small ship hid among the clouds as they zoomed closer to Harrison's position.

"We will arrive to Harrison's location in three minutes." Spock confirmed, "Captain, it is unlikely that he will come willingly… I calculate that the odds are at 91.6%"

"Good thing you don't care about dying." Uhura stated.

You didn't feel anything, you didn't care." "I'm not the only one who's upset with you; the Captain is too." She held her ground for Kirk as well.

"She is right." Kirk said.

Spock answered, "You're suggestion that I do not care about dying is incorrect." "The Sentient beings optimal chance at maximizing a utility is a long and prosperous life." Spock said,

"That's not quite a love song Spock…" Kirk snorted,

"You misunderstand…" Spock stated, "It is true I chose to not feel anything upon the fact that my own life was ending. As Admiral's Pike's life was coming to an end, I joined with his consciousness and experienced what he felt at the moment of his passing… anger, confusion, loneliness… fear." He turned towards Kirk.

"I had experienced those feeling before… multiplied exponentially on the day my planet was destroyed. Such a feeling is something I choose never to experience again." He paused, "Kirk you speak of my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring while I assure you; the truth is quite precisely the opposite." Spock finished.

WHAM! The small ship was knocked and their communication between the Enterprise was cut off; Sulu was desperate to get them back online.

"We are being pursued by a random patrol."

"This ship has no shield capabilities." Spock stated as the Bird of Prey endlessly pursued them. It blasted rays intending to kill them.

"They're closing fast, bearing 285!" Uhura told their Captain

"Alright there, I think we can lose them there!" Kirk shouted as he neared an incredibly narrow channel.

"Captain we will not fit." Spock told him.

"We'll fit!" Kirk retorted.

"Well fit WE'LL FIT!" Kirk yelled as the shuttle blazed through the tiny channel and scraped its sides as it wove through.

Uhura screamed while Kirk growled. They were both panting as the shuttle leveled out.

"I told you we'd fit." He snorted at Spock.

"I'm not sure that qualifies." Spock suggested.

"He's supposed to be here." Spock said.

"We lost him… or they're jamming our signal." Uhura declared.

"Or we lost him…" Kirk answered again, refusing defeat.

Just then, three Klingon Birds of Prey blasted their spotlights on their tiny ship. Klingon dialect shouted at them through the channel; the only one that could understand it was Uhura.

"They're ordering us to land." She said, answering all of Kirk's unasked questions.

"Captain, they're gonna want to know why we're here. They're gonna torture us, question us, and they're gonna kill us." She finished.

"So we come out shooting." Kirk said.

"We're outnumbered, outgunned, there's no way we'd survive if we attack first." Uhura explained to him. "You brought me here because I speak Klingon…" She looked him in the eyes, "Then let me speak Klingon."

Kirk slowly led the small ship to the ground.

They decided that it would be wise to lead Uhura out first since she spoke their native language. She left the ship and slowly walked towards the horde of Klingons.

"This isn't gonna work." Kirk told Spock.

"It is our only logical option." Spock answered.

"If you disrupt them now not only will you upset the wrath of the Klingons, but face Uhura's as well." Spock said.

She told them of a human hiding out on their planet. They considered this and seemed not to care about the loss of any humans… Uhura reminded them of honor, but the largest one stepped closer and picked her up by the neck. Kirk and Spock didn't care and they both would die for their crew and they were just about to jump ship to save her until a brilliant red flash hit the Klingon holding up their lieutenant, causing him to drop her.

Khan POV

He saw them and their puny ship. He had to give it to Kirk for following him all the way to Kronos.

_But in that?_ Hmm… He thought. He didn't care anymore… Nothing was important to him, save for one thing and one thing only. Finding his crew and killing _him…_

He watched the woman stab the Klingon in the leg and ran for it.

Kirk stunned the alien as Uhura rolled away.

Khan watched as two more officers started shooting right from the small shuttle. Phasers set to stun…obviously. He lost sight of them for a while. The Klingons were putting up somewhat of a battle, but they should have known it was effortless to him.

Kirk POV

Kirk punched one of the Klingons, but he'd gotten head butted in the process and damn it hurt! He staggered backwards slightly to avoid another blow to the head. Now… He was just mainly dodging killing blows.

Spock stalked forward, quiet and stoic as ever… phaser in the air before him. Two shots to a Klingon in front of him and he was down. Spock took cover behind a large rock. He heard blasting behind him and he turned and saw a hooded figure with a phaser that represented a machine gun more than anything. The man believed to be John Harrison began using the gun as a sword and knocking the aliens over. Spock took in the fact that his strength was not of any human he'd seen before. Uhura was running without a gun, but Kirk had been momentarily stopped and he was on the ground getting beaten up yet again.

Kirk POV

_He was getting a little tired of this… _

He saw Harrison and aimed his phaser at him, but a Klingon suddenly side swiped him, knocking the wind from Kirk's lungs. He was getting furious now. Two more Warbirds released a great amount of Klingon soldiers. Harrison aimed him gun at them and endlessly killed them. As soon as Kirk got one off, another followed, punching him as he rolled to the ground. He started to slow down until a smoking bottom half of a Klingon fell in front of him. Spock leaned over his body and pulled Kirk up, Uhura ran to his side and tried to help as well, but Spock was carrying the brunt of his weight as Kirk stared up at the man he believed to be Harrison in astonishment.

Kirk's eyes widened.

The man had shot down not only countless men, but their ships as well, preventing their escape.

Now they all stared as he started blasting away the Klingons with his enormous cannon. As soon as it was emptied, he pulled out a Federation phaser cannon that was not as large as the first, but he didn't doubt the man's aim whatsoever.

The man paused and pulled down his facemask, proving to the world who he was and he was most certainly not afraid to show it either. He then did an impossible leap past all of them and continued to slaughter more Klingons. He even went as far as going into hand to hand combat with the beasts. Laying them done one right after another until he retrieved one of their weapons and stalked towards the three man crew huddled together.

"Stand down!" Kirk said, though he was on the floor.  
"How many torpedoes?" was all the murderer asked.

Spock held his ground and aimed his phaser at the war criminal.

"Stand down…" Kirk's First Officer ordered.

"How many!" He shouted as he shot the weapon from the Vulcan's hands.

The other two stared while Kirk's eyes went wide.

"The torpedoes, the weapons you threaten me with in your message, how many are there?" He demanded.

"Seventy-two." Spock was the only one to answer the man. The war criminal stared back, fury across his face suddenly fading. But his dark hair fell over his face, shielding his eyes.

His head bowed slightly as Kirk watched. "I surrender." He stated as he threw down his gun and lowered to his knees. Spock picked up his gun and trailed slowly towards him; the weapon let off a high buzzing sound, signaling that it was reloaded. Kirk got up, slowly but a fury blazed across his face that John Harrison would have to face.

"On behalf of Christopher Pike…my friend, I accept your surrender." Kirk started. He turned, Spock watched him, and the Captain punch him in the face twice. The other man didn't even buckle from the hard blows Kirk was throwing.

Harrison's eyes narrowed… before Kirk punched him in the chest. Kirk grabbed him by the neck and hit him in the stomach three times with his knee. He reigned seven more hits to Harrison's face before Uhura shouted; the Captain grunted with each attack he gave, but the other man remained quiet.

"Captain!" She didn't want him to lose it. Even Kirk was panting and bleeding, but there wasn't a scratch on John's pale face and Kirk noticed this after he almost landed on all fours.

"Captain..." Harrison was almost smiling. Kirk glared at him, with blood on his lip, until he was too exhausted to hit him anymore.

"Cuff him…" Kirk panted as he walked towards the other ship.

Harrison smiled as he was cuffed and brought in…

Khan POV

He was surrounded by men in red shirts, but he had a plan that would soon come to fruition, but he needed to know more, and possibly tell more as well.

That Captain could sure take a beating as well as give it… He'd simply been taking it as the Klingons attacked them.

A blonde woman stared at him as he went by… He paid her no mind.

McCoy POV

"Bones meet me on the brig." Kirk said through his communicator.

"I'll be right there." His friend said with sincerity.

"Lieutenant, contact Starfleet, let them know we have Harrison in custody." Kirk gave out his orders. "We'll be on our way once our warp core is repaired." Kirk finished.

"Yes sir." She replied. She looked towards Spock and gave him a knowing smile. The Vulcan's brow quirked slightly and he hadn't caught on, but she'd seen the way Spock pulled the Captain away ever so quickly without her aid. If she suspected something, she hadn't led on.

"Why the hell did he surrender?" McCoy asked.

"I don't know and he just took out a squadron of Klingons single-handedly." Kirk answered.

"Looks like we have a Superman on board." McCoy grimly stated.

It had surprised Leonard that any man could take out some Klingons, and then willingly surrender… That wasn't creepy or diabolical planning as if he'd ever seen it. He followed Kirk towards the cell and looked at the man. He was tall… very tall and rather pale too. He looked very well put together for a man that just murdered a fair amount of Klingons… and without a single scratch he noticed.

"Put your arm through the hole, I'm gonna take a blood sample." McCoy wasn't asking, but he felt tired more than anything.

The elegant man almost stomped down the step in his pure white cell and almost tore back his sleeve to reveal him arm to the doctor.

McCoy stiffened as the other man… if he could even call him that… reached his arm through the hole in the glass that the doctor had made. Thankfully, nobody had noticed. He'd made it small enough that Harrison pushed his fist through then opened it like he was crushing something and opened it.

"Why aren't we moving… Captain?" The fugitive stared as the doctor took a sample and he then looked towards Kirk.

McCoy didn't trust this man… _creature_ for all his worth…

Harrison's arm was slender yet incredibly pale; McCoy could see there was little to no pigmentation of his skin so that meant there was no melanin because he didn't need it.

McCoy's hand shook a fraction of an inch as he handled the hypo, but steadied himself; he took pride in having the steadiest hands on the ship.

Otherworldly couldn't even begin to cover what this being was…

His slanted upturned eyes were different… predator-like, and he'd been stalking behind the glass like a lion right before they entered the room.

McCoy pressed the needle in that incredibly pale flesh and pulled out the darkest blood he'd ever seen.

Harrison's arm flinched only slightly as McCoy pushed the needle in harder; obviously not being gentle.

He was doing a little better at controlling himself, but he'd have to get help from Spock later because he wasn't sure just how much longer he could deal with… _John_ _Harrison_.

"I expect a malfunction perhaps, in your warp core… keeping you stranded on the edge of Klingon space?" His deep voice rang through the cell, magnifying it somehow.

"How the hell do you know that?" McCoy asked, clearly not considering anything important because this man… _Superman_ knew everything after only being here for less than an hour.

"Bones…" Kirk warned.

"I believe you'll find my insights…valuable Captain." Harrison said as he pulled his arm back inside his cell. The doctor scoffed as he removed the needle.

McCoy glared at him as he carried away the warm vials of his blood.

"Let me know what you find." Kirk asked.

McCoy got away as quickly as he could without giving away how worried and stressed he'd become. He didn't want to lose it in front of his Captain…_friend,_ _but least of all… the prisoner! _

Khan POV

"Ignore me… and you will get everyone on this ship killed." Harrison's profound voice rang out for all to hear. Spock was the only officer to turn his head in John's direction.

"Captain, I believe he will only attempt to influence you." Spock told Kirk, "I would not recommend engaging the prisoner further."

"Yeah Spock, I got it." Kirk said with his back to Harrison.

With that… Spock left. Too bad neither of them noticed that he could hear everything they'd been saying…

Kirk turned and stomped towards Harrison in a threatening manner, but rather than back up Harrison leaned slightly closer and stool taller; he was not easily put down. They'd be invading each other's personal space if there had been no glass there.

"Let me explain what's happening here…" Kirk stated, "You are a criminal, I watched you murder innocent men and women. I was authorized to end you… and the only reason why you're alive is because I am allowing it. So shut your mouth." Kirk almost hollered. He could see those blue eyes brighten as the Captain's tone got heated

Harrison's pale face looked down as he started, "Captain… Are you going to punch me again over and over until your arm weakens; clearly you want to so tell me… Why did you let me live?" His eyes narrowed into something rapacious.

He could basically feel the Captain's rage…

"We all make mistakes." Kirk huffed.

"Hmm…" John almost smiled, "I surrendered to you because, despite your attempt to convince me otherwise, you seem to have a conscious Mr. Kirk. If you did not then it would be impossible for me to convince you of the truth… 23174611 coordinates not far from Earth. If you want to know why I did what I did, go and take a look" He closed his statement.

"Give me one reason why I should?" Kirk invited.

"I can give you seventy-two… and they're onboard your ship, Captain… They have been all along." His icy stare went through Kirk.

"I suggest you open one up." He suggested. He watched as the Captain left the room without another word. He knew everything that was going on, possibly far more than anyone on the ship. He knew he could persuade anyone… Once he knew enough about them… He glanced down at the hole that Doctor McCoy had made in his arm and smiled.

**Ok… So this chapter was MUCH bigger, ok instead of a baby, its quadruplets, than the others because we need to get a move on! XD I considered breaking in up into multi chapters, but no… I would like to do a separate Pike piece for those that are interested in seeing more of his new life beyond the Pearly Gates. I don't think some of you can agree, but this is fan fiction (not religion) so please don't take anything personally ok? XD I honestly think that would be Pike's opinion of heaven… Please let me know what you all think in the reviews; I look forward to your feedback… I'm not certain if other chapters will be this big, but we will see. (PrincessJim4.0 is tired; it took an hour to beta this, all mistakes fixed and revised exception for accents though 3 …)**


	4. Testing A Doctor's Patience

Khan POV

It had been a significant amount of time before Harrison had any visitors… He had to do something; he was feeling enclosed and alone with only his mind as a companion and he knew as well as anyone that would be a deadly merge. He considered it as he gazed towards the men in red shirts guarding the door.

_Completely dispensable… _He deliberated. He looked around him for the first time since he'd gotten there. White… everything was so white, but he could see black screens with red sensors that possibly scanned the room every few moments.

Scanners could be destroyed as well if they stood in his way…anything could. He started running things through in his mind before he could stop them. His intellect may have gotten the better of him at times, but there was very little he could do for it until he regained a stronger hold of his own mentality. He began running various elements through his mind as he considered each possibility…

This glass could never hold his authority…his _power._

He remained stoic as ever, almost giving the impression of being a statue looking towards the floor of his cell, but his mind was a whirling maelstrom of infinities. He felt as if he were trying to log each one before then next came at light speed. His brow furrowed as his mind started to blur his vision, making it difficult to concentrate; three hundred years of knowledge had a propensity to make him sociopathic and insane at times, he glanced up to meet a familiar pair of hazel eyes.

Harrison's head cocked to the side a fraction on an inch.

"Why Doctor… Have you come to grace me with a visit?" His eyes were almost a colorless blue.

The doctor's brows creased; he didn't seem to want anything to do with their new prisoner.

Harrison considered and weighed his options…

"I am dreadfully famished." He lied. He wasn't certain how long he could be alone… He never wanted to go back into that icy cold pod in a cryo-sleep. There was too much silence and his mind would never stop endlessly going; it would drive him simply _mad_…+6.

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He watched the doctor move across the room and go near a replicating machine. He was most curious. His eyes averted slowly up the Doctor's back, taking in his physique… to understand what kind of fight he may be able to put up… maybe even other possibilities. A faint smile came to his lips as the oblivious doctor turned around carrying a steaming bowl of liquid. McCoy set it down on a small table as he pulled the opening device and pushed it to the center. He didn't make it bigger for Harrison to get the food.

"Do you think that this is fair?" He scoffed; tone getting a bit dark.

"Well, you're kind of a murder… How do I know you won't break my arm when I open this chamber?" McCoy was nervous and irritated at the same time, but he was trying not to show it after the mistake he'd done in front of Jim and that pointy-eared bastard.

"You don't…" Harrison whispered as he leaned closer to the glass.

McCoy's eyes narrowed as he made the opening large enough to push his hands through. Harrison watched and waited as the doctor held out the bowl.

John was going to have to put his hands through because the man clearly didn't trust him. Harrison's eyes narrowed as he put a single hand through.

"It's not big enough to fit that." He said.

"I know…" McCoy said. Harrison was getting curious; apparently he hadn't been planning on this.

"So I do get to eat?" He grinned, "You like to hold this over my head?" McCoy grumbled something as he made the hole big enough for the bowl and held the bowl of soup to John's hands, making him have to reach for it.

_Two can play at this game…_ he thought.

Harrison reached for the soup, making the opening strain as he forced his arms through it. His hands reached the soup finally, but that wasn't his goal. His hands clasped over Leonard's as he slowly moved them down over the sides of the bowl. He felt the other man flinch.

"Doctor, I thought you had the steadiest hands on the ship?" He mocked.

McCoy wanted to throw the soup at his face; but he didn't.

Harrison knew…

"Do you wish to hurl this soup at me Doctor?" He laughed. McCoy wasn't laughing and he pushed his arms back through the hole and made it only big enough for the bowl to fit and he then closed it a pushed it to the side before Harrison could try anything else.

John stood there holding his soup with a brow raised. He set the bowl down on the floor and knelt down beside it.

"Must I eat it with my hands?" He supposed. His eyes held a mischievous glimmer of light.

He was enjoying this too much. In an hour he could probably make this man crazy…

The doctor shook his head as he dug in a drawer by the replicating machine. He turned and saw that the war criminal had sat down on the floor. Leonard hunched lower and shoved the spoon through the hole and it clattered against the wall behind John's back.

His eyes narrowed, "Now that… was just plain childish." And for once, Harrison was surprised.

McCoy just shrugged and started to leave.

"Can I have a biscuit?" He asked; an innocent gesture. McCoy looked at him kind of funny.

"Ah…American…I see… I need some crackers." He corrected himself. He wanted to laugh and it had been good while since he'd done that. He should have known by this man's drawl that he was indeed southern.

"Here…" McCoy dug a pack of 3 crackers from his medical bag and held them through the hole, waiting on him to take them instead.

Harrison was certain in touching his fingers as he took the biscuits. The doctor exhaled quickly but said nothing as he went out the door, medical bag strapped to his arm.

Harrison looked at his fingers as he dropped the biscuits to the floor and turned his hand around, examining it.

"Most curious." He spoke as he felt the heat of the doctor's hands melt through his own. He was out of options as he looked down at his soup. The broth was a warm brown with vegetables in it. He looked at the carrots and thought about what they were and how the tissues broke down into cells and cells to atoms and then electrons and protons…

He looked away from the soup and turned behind him to the wall where the spoon lied on the ground. He grabbed it a little too rough and bent it completely out of proportion.

He only ate the biscuits because they came from the doctor's bag; he didn't trust anything replicated. More hours distorted his mind as time went on. He was getting irate and simply bored and that was dangerous… for them.

He picked up the bowl of soup that was now very cold and held it directly in front of him and released it.

McCoy POV

He thought it was best that he not tell anyone about feeding Kirk's new prisoner; he didn't want any more trouble but he had a communicator that was hailing his signal so he knew everything Harrison said and did.


	5. My Name is Khan!

**Sorry for previously deleting this chapter; I had posted the wrong version! Ok so my script isn't perfect and if there are any errors, and there may even be; I don't care… as long as you don't care, but you can't point them out to me otherwise… Finished up 22 hours of math…there! I swear it feels like I'm married to math!**

**Thanks to Shelby!**

"Are the torpedoes in the weapons bay?" Carol Marcus asked.

"Loaded and ready to fire, what are they?" Kirk asked as they hurried down through the corridors of the Enterprise.

"I don't know, that's why I transferred on your ship and find out that's why and I do apologize for that. By the way if I have caused you problems, I am sorry. I'm Carol Marcus."

"James Kirk…" He responded.

"Torpedoes" was all she said as she turned towards the weapons bay.

"My father gave me access to every program in the system

"When I went to confront him about it, he wouldn't even see me. That's when I discovered that the torpedoes were missing from all official records."

"And then he gave them to me…" Kirk stopped.

"Much more clever than you application suggests." Carol smiled as she climbed a short set of white stairs.

"You have quite the reputation." She continued.

"I have a reputation?" Jim was starting to get interested.

"You do… I am a friend of Christine Chapel."

"Oh speaking of that, how is she?" He was curious.

"She transferred to Frontier to be a nurse and much happier now." Marcus finished.

"Good good." Jim stopped as she asked him to turn around after grabbing something black out of a white chest.

Jim knew she asked him to turn around, but he couldn't help himself.

"It's too dangerous to open one of the torpedoes on the Enterprise, but there is a nearby planetoid. I can open one up there, but I will somehow..." She stopped and met Kirk's wide blue eyes.

"Turn around… now." She said, but didn't seem too threatening, not to James T. Kirk.

McCoy POV

Jim made it back to the bridge without much effort and much less of an imagination of Carol Marcus' body. He had Sulu set the coordinates as they attempted to have Carol and McCoy open up one of the torpedoes. Sulu was happy yet worried that there had been no interaction or counter-attack from the Klingons yet.

Starfleet still hadn't responded to their messages about capturing Harrison yet. Chekov found the leak, but the damage was substantial and there was not much he could do right away. Kirk understood but he knew it wasn't Chekov's fault, but he suspected another…

Jim had his CMO out on the planet because he had the steadiest hands on the ship.

"You know when I imagined being stuck on a planet with a gorgeous woman… I didn't think there'd be any torpedo!" McCoy snapped at his communicator as he carried out a large box of supplies.

"Dr. McCoy must I remind you that you are not there to flirt." Kirk said through the signal.

"So how can these collective merry hands help you Dr. Marcus?" He was practically smiling.

"Bones…" Kirk snorted back.

McCoy figured he was jealous and he loved every second of it.

"To understand the pathway systems are, we have to open the warhead; to do that we must access the compartment. Unfortunately, the warheads are live." She stated as she made a once around the piece of weaponry.

"Sweetheart, I once performed an emergency c-section on a pregnant Gorn with octuplets. Let me tell ya something, those little bastards fight." He said as he set down the box of tools.

"I think I can work some magic on your missile." Jim mad a face and Sulu's jaw almost dropped.

"Doctor McCoy, there's a bundle of fiber-optic cables against the inner-casing. You'll need to cut the twenty-third wire. Whatever you do, do not touch anything else, understand?"

"Right, the thought never crossed my mind." He wasn't really thinking of the missile at the moment.

He reached inside with the tiny wire cutting tool.

"Dr. McCoy, wait for my word." Carol started.

"I'm rerouting the detonation processor. Are you ready?"

"And rearing…" The doctor finished her sentence.

"Good luck." She said.

The compartment's cover slammed down on McCoy's hand and he shouted then Carol stumbled in surprise.

Just then Jim's and Carol's voices flooded the doctor's head and he got irate.

"What the hell? I can't get my arm out!" His hazel eyes went wide in shock.

Jim wanted them beamed back aboard immediately, but Spock told him they couldn't because it would bring the open torpedo back on board the ship when it could blow at any minute.

"You cannot bring one back without the other." Spock continued.

"Can you disarm it?" Jim almost shouted; he suddenly felt as if he was losing another friend all over again. It was almost the same as almost losing Spock and Jim could feel the familiar burn.

"I'm trying." Carol answered.

"Jim get her the hell outta here." McCoy shouted.

"No, if you beam me back, he dies. Let me do it!" Carol argued.

"This is insane…" McCoy was barely above a whisper now.

_Ten, Nine, Eight_… the counter kept going down.

"Ready to transport Dr. Marcus on your command sir." Sulu stated towards the captain. Uhura was astonished by Carol's bravery for a crew member she'd hardly known.

_Four… Three… Two… _

Carol kept trying to reroute it, but it just wasn't working. She grabbed the entire wired unit and tore it out, falling on the ground with her efforts.

McCoy let out a gasp as he pulled his arm free and the warhead opened up.

"Dr. McCoy are you alright?" Jim asked.

The doctor rolled up to a sitting position and rose.

"Bones?" The captain said.

He couldn't say anything; it was too insane at the moment. He knew right when Carol knew…

"Jim… You might wanna see this." His brows furrowed in disbelief.

Scotty POV

The older Chief Engineer followed the coordinates his captain gave him; he was ever loyal. He was near Koordinaten Jupiter…

The small shuttle blasted above the moon and Scotty could see the swirling masses of storm systems on Jupiter. His lips parted.

He could see a huge cargo loading bay. He could see a ray of blue lights; obviously the run way for something enormous.

_USS Vengeance bridge crew, Requesting entry to construction hangar… _

Scotty didn't need to be told twice as he swerved his ship around and jumped right into the fray. Some may have considered him old, but he never acted upon it… H was always up for something crazy, but the real shocker was that he'd decided on leaving Keenser behind for his own safety.

He could see the black elegance with all her might… Scotty was in awe.

"Holy Shit…" Scotty was aghast.

"What have we got?" Jim asked Carol as he walked towards Med Bay.

"Quite clever, the fuel container has been removed from the torpedo in order to hide this cryo tube." Carol responded.

"Is he alive?" Kirk's dark brows rose as he looked up at his CMO.

_I almost lost you…_ Kirk thought for a minute, but he didn't have time to dwell on the details.

"Yes, but if we try to revive him without the proper sequencing, it could kill him."

Jim looked at him in wonder.

"This technology is beyond me." McCoy stated.

"Doctor, how advanced it is?" Spock asked as he came up behind Kirk.

"It's not advanced, that cryo-tube is ancient." Carol answered the question they all wanted to ask.

"We haven't needed to freeze anyone since we've developed warp capability." McCoy told Jim.

"Which explains the most interesting about our friend here… He's over three hundred years old." Jim's eyes widened and for once, even Spock's eyes may have held a glimmer of curiosity.

Khan POV

He heard them far before they ever arrived, indeed carrying rather inquisitive news that seemed positively…urgent. His narrow eyes followed their movement like a predator.

_Always watching…_

Harrison was sitting down on the bench within the cell, his posture was positively rigid.

"Why is there a man in that torpedo?" Kirk's stance was stiff.

"There are men and women in all those torpedoes, Captain I put them there." He started. Spock and Jim glanced at one another.

"Who the hell are you?" Jim knew this was no ordinary man anymore, hardly a superman but this man seemed beyond God himself because he was here on Earth and far from the heavens.

"A remnant of time gone past… genetically engineered to be superior so as to lead others to peace in a world at war. We were condemned… forced into exile. For centuries we slept." He gazed towards the Vulcan.

"Hoping that we awoke, things would be… different; but as a result of the destruction of Vulcan, your Starfleet began to aggressively search the quantum of space my ship was found adrift, I alone survived." Harrison finished.

"I looked up John Harrison… until a year ago, he didn't exist." Jim was proving a point.

"John Harrison was a fiction created once I was awoken by your Admiral Marcus to help him advance his cause. A smokescreen to conceal my true identity…" The man slowly rose to meet the Captain face to face. A coldness in his eyes that was inhuman.

"My name is…Khan." He uttered. His eyes narrowed and his chin titled down just slightly, the movement seeming rather alien at the moment to the others.

"Why would a Starfleet Admiral ask a three hundred year old frozen man for help?" Jim asked.

"Because I am… _Better_." Khan affirmed.

"At what?" Kirk almost snorted.

"Everything…" He held an icy glare towards the Captain, challenging him… _Daring him_.

He could tell he truly hated this man. He reminded him too much of Marcus.

"Alexander Marcus needed to respond to an uncivilized strength at a civilized time and for that, he needed a warrior's mind… My mind" He did a once over and had his back turned on them; to design weapons… and warships." He turned once more to face the crew again.

"You're suggesting the admiral violated every regulation he vowed to uphold simply because he wanted to exploit your intellect?" Spock asked.

"He wanted to exploit my _savagery_…" Khan hissed as he progressed towards the Vulcan. Spock watched him.

"Intellect alone is useless in a fight, Mr. Spock you know you can't even break a rule; how can you be expected to break bone?" He was challenging the First Officer now.

"Marcus used me to design weapons… to help him realize his vision on a militarized Starfleet. He sent you to use those weapons… to fire my torpedoes on an unsuspecting planet and then he purposely crippled your ship in enemy space, leading to one imminent outcome… The Klingons will come searching for whomever was responsible and you would have no chance of escape. Marcus would finally would have a war he's always talked about… the war he's always wanted.

"No… no" Jim shook his head, "I watched you open fire to a room of unarmed Starfleet officers…" Khan's eyes closed, seemly as if it had hurt him to do so.

"You killed them in cold blood!" The Captain snapped.

"Marcus…took my crew from me!" Khan's tone darken substantially.

"You are a murderer!" Kirk's blue eyes lit up with rage.

Khan faced away from them as he spoke.

"He used my friends to control me…" Khan's face bore the palest shade of pink as unshed tears watered in his eyes as he spoke. "I tried to smuggle them to safety by concealing them in the very weapons I had designed. But I was discovered; I had no choice but to escape alone. But when I did, I had every reason to suspect that Marcus had killed every single one of the people I hold most dear… So I responded in kind." A single tear rolled down his cheek but then Khan's nostrils flared and his face crackled with fury. He turned and Kirk and his crew saw that it was genuine.

"My crew… is my family Kirk, is there anything you wouldn't do for your family?" The taller man asked.

Kirk looked him dead in the face and for once, began to understand this murderer; they had one thing in common.

_There wasn't a damned thing he wouldn't do for his crew… his family. _

_Proximity Alert sir, there's a ship at warp heading right for us_. Sulu's voice rang out over the main channel.

"Klingons?" Kirk asked.

"At warp?" Khan's face lit up, "No Kirk, we both know who it is." He scoffed all too knowingly.

"I don't think so, it's not coming from Kronos." The helmsman answered back.

Kirk backed away with a sudden epiphany of awareness.

"You tell them to move Khan to med bay with six security officers." He ordered as he ran from the room and towards the bridge.

"Yes Captain." An engineer responded and gathered a team.

Kirk POV

"Captain on the bridge." Sulu stated as Kirk entered the station with Spock in tow behind him.

"We have an incoming ship." Kirk said to Sulu.

"Three seconds, sir." Sulu responded.

"Shield us." Kirk commanded.

"Aye sir." Sulu answered.

Kirk took a deep breath as an enormous, blacker than space, starship blasted across the screen; uncloaking itself in all its almighty glory.

"They're hailing us sir." Uhura's voice rang out through Kirk's swirling emotions but his face was as stoic as his First Officer's. He wasn't about to show any type of weakness.

"On screen." He ordered, "Spock, that's ship wide, for the record."

Just then, Admiral Alexander Marcus' face appeared on the monitor.

"Captain Kirk." He said.

"Admiral Marcus, I wasn't expecting you." Kirk lied.

"Hell of a ship you got there." He was admitting the truth about that.

"and I wasn't expecting to get word that your taking Harrison in company in violation of your orders." Marcus seemed upset for reason. Spock glanced towards his Captain; an unspoken message went between the two.

"Yeah we improvised when our warp core unexpectedly malfunctioned, but you already knew that, didn't you sir?" Kirk feigned no innocence with Marcus' intentions.

"I don't take your meaning." The Admiral answered back.

"Well that's why you're here isn't it?" He knew how to lie since he was young and it only got better with age, "to assist us with repairs?" His blue eyes sparked with mischief.

"Why else would the head of Starfleet himself come to the edge of the neutral zone?" He was playing with fire and he knew he could get burned, but he wasn't about to stop. Nobody told James T. Kirk what the fuck to do.

Sulu looked down at his monitors, "Captain, they're scanning our ship."

"Is there something I can help you find, sir?" Kirk asked innocently.

"Where is your prisoner Kirk?" The Admiral asked.

"Par Starfleet regulation, I am returning… _Khan_ to Earth to stand trial." Kirk's words caused the Admiral to sit up in his chair.

"Well… shit." He scratched his temple, "You talked to him. That's exactly what I was hoping to spare you from. I took a tactical risk and I woke that bastard up, believing that his superior intelligence could help protect ourselves from whatever came at us next, but I made a mistake and now the blood that everybody he has killed is on my hands so I'm asking you… Give him to me so I can end what I started."

Kirk's brows furrowed, "Then what, exactly, would you like me to do with the rest of his crew, sir; fire them at the Klingons end seventy-two lives, start a war in the process?"

"He put those people in those torpedoes and I didn't want to burden you with knowing what inside of them. You saw what this man could do by himself, could you imagine what would happen if we woke up the rest of his crew?"

Khan was seething in the Medical Bay. His eyes were full of regret at not killing the man to begin with.

"What else did he tell you, that he's a peace-keeper?" Marcus' hands went up, "He's played you son, can't you see that? Khan and his crew were condemned to death as war criminals and now it is our duty to carry out that before anybody else dies because of him." Spock looked towards Kirk, a seemly telepathic message slipped between the two; Kirk didn't know too much about Vulcans and their telepathy and sometimes he wanted to rip the bangs off the Vulcan's forehead, but Spock understood him more than anyone… They both knew Admiral Marcus' actions were immoral; they didn't need a war criminal to inform them of this. The Vulcan's dark eyes told Kirk everything without words.

"Now I'm going to give you one more chance… One last time, son." If Kirk heard that word one more time, he'd punch that Admiral in the jaw. He was no son of that man.

"Lower your shields." Marcus demanded as nicely as he could.

Spock watched his captain and he understood they had little choice in the matter because they were out-shipped and out-gunned.

"Tell me where he is." He said once more.

"He's in engineering, sir." Kirk stated rather than admitted, "But I'll have in moved to the transporter room right away."

"I'll take it from here." Marcus took command of the situation.

As soon as Marcus went offline, Jim started up, "Do drop those shields Mr. Sulu."

"Aye Captain." Sulu kept them up.

"Captain, given your awareness of the true location of Khan in Med Bay may I know the details of your plan?" Spock practically ordered.

'I told Marcus that we're bringing a fugitive back to Earth, That's what we're gonna do."

"Mr. Chekov, can we warp?" Kirk hailed down to engineering.

"Yes, but if we go to warp we run the risk of physically damaging the core." Chekov answered in a high tone as he donned the new goggles and red shirt.

"Can we do it?" Kirk asked.

"Tsk… Technically ves, but I vould not adwise it Keptain." Chekov admitted.

"Noted…" Kirk ended the conversation.

"Mr. Sulu, set coordinates for Earth." Kirk planned.

"Yes sir." Sulu turned in his chair and got to work.

"Punch it." He said in memory of Admiral Pike's favored line.

Sulu pulled up the lever that granted them the speed beyond light itself.

The Enterprise shifted and pulsed with power as its engines flared. The Enterprise tore a hole through space and blasted a warp signature right beneath the USS Vengeance.

"Well, at least we're moving again." McCoy was close to smiling after the catastrophe with Admiral Marcus. He ran a scanner across Khan's chest, not completely understanding the biological nature of the ethereal being.

"If you think you're safe at warp, you're wrong." Khan's words echoed through the doctor as he sat up on the bio bed. His otherworldly stare bore through the doctor's, knowing he should be accepting his own fate at the same moment. McCoy couldn't reply quickly enough before Carol Marcus abruptly went running from the room. Khan's stare told her just enough and that the entire ship was in grave peril, but they hadn't known it yet.

But Carol did; Khan's look told her everything. That man was the one whose mind went into designing the Vengeance, but it wasn't meant for Marcus, it had been created for Khan.

"Lieutenant Uhura, contact Starfleet, tell them we were pursued through neutral zone by an unmarked Federation ship.

"Comms are down sir." She said as she tried every channel.

At that moment, Carol Marcus came running through the corridor.

"Permission to come on the bridge sir." Carol came running in.

"Doctor Marcus?" Kirk said, seemingly surprised.

"He's going to catch us at warp sir, and when he does he'll destroy this ship but not with me onboard. You have to let me talk to him."

"Carol, we're at warp he can't catch up to us."

"Yes he can. His ship has advanced weaponry-" Carol was interrupted by the helmsman.

"Captain!" Sulu shouted, "I'm getting a reading under the scanners."

As the Enterprise shimmered through space with blast of blue rays, the black demonic Vengeance ghosted behind, trailing its own warp signature of fury. Its turrets released an array of angry red upon the silver beauty. Holes blasted through the Enterprise with its crippled warp core pushing out as much power as it possibly could maintain. So many laser bullets wrought destruction upon Kirk and his crew, tearing some of them from the very void of space. The Enterprise was knocked off trail and blasted through warp speed, almost shredding a hole through the time/space continuum.

Kirk felt his whole world slam, causing everyone around him to hold on to the closest things next to them. He could hear their screams, shrill and then distant as the blackness stole them away.

"Where are we?!" Kirk asked in a state of panic.

"We're two hundred thirty-seven thousand kilometers from Earth." Sulu answered just as fast.

"We're defenseless now." Chekov's female replacement responded.

"Evasive maneuvers! Get us to Earth right now!" Kirk shouted as the ship slammed back and tilted, causing everyone on board to fall.

"Stop!" Dr. Marcus ordered, "Everyone on this ship is going to die, if you do not let me speak to him."

Kirk was panting for breath, "Hail them now." He asked Uhura.

"Sir, it's me… It's Carol." She stated over the channel.

All the world could hear was the Red Alert wailing as the Enterprise cried out for clemency.

Just then, the Admiral's face showed on screen, "What are you doing on that ship?" He stated rather than asked.

"I heard what you said" She told him, "You made a mistake and now you're doing everything you can to fix it, but dad…I… I don't believe that the man who raised me is capable of destroying a ship filled with innocent people; and if I'm wrong about that then you're going to have to do it with me on board." She sucked in a breath and hoped that he wouldn't.

"Actually Carol, I don't." He said.

"Oh!" Carol's eyes widened as swirls of energy whirled around her.

"Can you intercept the transport signal?" Kirk asked.

"No sir." Sulu was flabbergasted as to how he was able to beam his daughter from their ship.

"Don't!" She turned towards Kirk and ran for the door.

"No!" Kirk shouted and she screamed. Uhura held up her hands to block her fall, but her body shifted to molecules and was beamed aboard the larger ship with her father in the Captain's chair.

"Captain Kirk, without authorization and in league with John Harrison, you went rogue in enemy territory, leaving me with no other choice but to hunt you down and destroy you. Lock phasers." He turned from the screen.

"Wait! Sir, wait wait wait!" Kirk shouted as he ran towards the screen holding up a palm in defense.

"Make this quick. Target all torpedoes on the bridge of the Enterprise." Marcus finished.

Spock's eyes widened as Kirk turned.

_He understood what he was going to do…_

"Sir, my crew was just following my orders, I take… take full responsibility for my actions, but they were mine and mine alone." Kirk faced the Admiral.

"If I transmit comms location to you now, all that I ask is that you spare them." Kirk's eyes had never been so blue or shone so bright with honesty.

"Please sir." He asked, "I'll do anything you want, just let them live."

"That's a hell of an apology." He sat down in his chair, "but if it's any consolation, I was never going to spare your crew." The Admiral's almost violet eyes bore through Kirk's on the screen.

"Fire…" The screen image had been terminated.

The weaponry of the USS Vengeance cocked and loaded was aimed for the exploring silver ship.

Jim looked through everyone on the bridge; seeing their faces pure in understanding and utter defeat.

"I'm sorry." Kirk's words blasted through everyone's minds and very souls, even Khan's; He understood that connection as deeply as the Captain.

Spock's face was no longer stoic, but a different type of expression showed but the Captain couldn't place it, it didn't matter anymore.

Just as they were all on the brink of destruction, the beams of light from the phasers completely died out.

"Our weapons won't fire sir!" A bald helmsman shouted to Admiral Marcus.

"Our shields are down, we're losing power." Another helmsman yelled, "Someone in engineering just manually reset the system."

"What do you mean someone… Who?!" Marcus snapped.

"Their weapons are powered down?!" Sulu was close to smiling, but they didn't have much time for that. "Sir…"

"Enterprise… Can ye hear me?" Scotty's voice rang out through the channel.

"Scotty!" Jim's entire face lit up in surprise and gratitude.

"Guess what I found behind Jupiter?" He whispered.

"You're on that ship?!" Jim was ecstatic.

"I snuck on and now I've committed an act of treason against a Starfleet A'miral and now I'd really like to get off this bloody ship and beam me out!" He yelled in a whisper.

"You're a miracle worker… We're a little low on power right now, but you've got to stand by….stand by." Jim uttered over the channel.

"What ye mean low on power, Wha' happened to the Enterprise?" Just then Scotty heard a door open.

"Call ye back." He half whispered in a state of panic and off he ran to hide.

"Scotty?" Kirk asked once more.

"Spock, our ship how is she?" He stood up on the steps as the Vulcan came rather close to him.

"Our options are limited Captain, we cannot fire and we cannot flee." They were at eye level.

"There's one option." Kirk said as he gazed into those almost obsidian eyes.

"Uhura, when you get Scotty back… patch him through." He told her.

"Yes sir." She nodded and waited for the signal.

"Mr. Spock, you have the comm." He turned away from the bridge.

"Captain, I strongly object." Spock followed him across the bridge and into the turbo lift.

"To what? I haven't said anything yet." Kirk admitted.

"Since we cannot take the ship from the outside, we would have no other option but to take it from within and with that as a large boarding party would be easily, Captain, it would not be wise to take as few crew members as possible. You will need resistance which would require advanced combat ability and innate knowledge of that ship indicates that you plan to align with Khan, a man we were sent here to destroy…"

"I'm not aligning, I'm using him." Kirk corrected the Vulcan.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Kirk spoke.

"An Arabic proverb about a prince who was betrayed and decapitated by his own subjects." Spock retorted.

"Yeah well it's a hell of a quote." Jim argued in favor.

"I will go with you Captain." Spock stated.

"No, I need you on the bridge." Jim huffed and the Vulcan grabbed his shoulder and forced him to meet his eyes.

"I cannot allow you to do this." He disagreed. "It is my function on board this ship to advise you on making the wisest decision possible; something I firmly believe you aren't capable of doing at this very moment."

"You're right!" Jim snapped. "What I'm about to do doesn't make any sense. It's not logical, It is a gut feeling!" Kirk snapped. Spock's elongated brows were furrowed as he took in this in sequence.

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do." He admitted to his companion.

"I only know what I can do." He finished.

"Enterprise and the crew need someone in that chair that knows what he's doing… It's not me."

His ocean blue eyes full of emotional honesty, "It's you Spock."

Kirk turned and left towards Med Bay.

The Vulcan just stared off into emptiness, his heart feeling suddenly empty.

Khan POV

He watched and waited; and he most certainly knew the plan before it had ever reached the mind of the Enterprise's Captain.

"Tell me everything you know about that ship." He asked the man on the bed.

" North class. Two times the size, three times the speed… advanced weaponry, modified for a minimal crew. Unlike most Federation Vessels, it is built solely for combat."

" I swear I will do everything in my power to make you answer for what you did."

Khan just stared at him, almost through him.

"But right now, I need your help."

"In exchange for what?" He was getting something out of this too.

"You said you'd do anything for your crew…" Kirk said, 'I can guarantee their safety."

"Captain, you can't even guarantee the safety of your own crew." He stated.

"Bones, what are you doing with that tribble?" Jim asked.

Khan was honest with his words… So Bones was his nickname then?

He remained bolt upright position as they continued their conversation.

"This tribble is dead, I'm injecting Khan's platelets in the deceased tissue of the necrotic host. Khan's cells regenerate like nothing I've ever seen and I wanna know why." The doctor stopped.

Kirk stepped towards the other man; his bright indigo eyes challenged Khan's pale cobalt ones. He knew he wanted revenge for everything… This damned Captain knew it… _fucking knew it. _

"You coming or not?" He finished.

After the Captain was gone, that left the doctor to remove his cuffs. McCoy moved carefully with the key and steadied himself so as not to make himself a fool in front of this man as he had with that damned soup… That fucker probably didn't even need to eat…

Leonard leaned in and grabbed for Harrison's…no… Khan's wrists. His brows furrowed over the concealed identity. But now this man was going to be their last chance; his life was going to fall back in this bloodthirsty deity on a quest for vengeance.

Khan was interpreting all the messages this man had clearly shown across his features. He was almost too easy to read and that made him feel slightly bad…_only_ _slightly_.

Khan hunched lower towards the southerner as he was unlocking his cuffs, causing the other man to jump. They were alone for them moment; the security was waiting for them and the doctor had unknowingly set himself up. The God felt the doctor's breath drew nearer through his teeth.

Khan may have liked this one… more than the others, probably because of his very apparent humanity and fascination with his cells. There wasn't much else he could do since this doctor obviously favored a certain Carol Marcus.

_Like he gave a shit…_

He didn't know if he'd ever see this man again and he reminded him so much of his own crew, only slightly but it was enough for him. Khan pressed his nose into Leonard's warm tan neck as he unfastened the right arm's lock mechanism. He inhaled deeply before then other man pulled away in what Khan believed to be disgust, but when he saw his face he was more certain in was based off of fear.

Khan's thin-mouthed expression upturned in the slightest movement of content, but his eyes remained narrow and cold.

His locks clicked open, freeing his hands.

He considered it, but he doubted that the poor doctor would have his consent… It had been over three hundred years, at least his desire had never broken; never consumed him, but it certainly had wavered from his true intentions.

He wanted to eradicate Admiral Marcus from the universe… of that he was certain. It was like feeding a baby lamb to a ravenous black wolf.

He looked at the doctor and rose. His thin, yet powerful frame filled out in front of him as he placed the cuffs in Leonard's hands; his expression remained detached now.

_He had a lamb to eat…_

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter; took me forever trying to figure out what the fuck Carol was saying. Her parts take the longest for me to figure out and decipher since it's so high pitch and fast. Thankfully Khan's voice is much easier… especially with the deep tone of his! XD **


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